Schevchenko ’16, Lillenbaum ’17, and Moore ’17 in character.
The Gelb Theatre opened its doors once again on Sunday, May 22, for the Acting 350 student showcase of an extremely powerful piece entitled “The Maids.” Starring in and producing the performance were Rebecca Lillenbaum ’17, Mika Schevchenko ’16, and Kate Moore ’17, who drew students, parents, and faculty members alike to make up the audience.
The play told the story of two young maids and their Madame, and all forty-five minutes of the plot were engaging and ripe with emotion. Lillenbaum and Schevchenko played the maids, and Moore, the Madame. With such talented performers, it is no surprise that the three girls received a standing ovation after their successful performance.
The three students, who were only given a script from their teacher, prepared independently for the show all spring. They made their own decisions about all of the aspects of the production, which entailed a lot of hard work. Ms. Tracy Ginder-Delventhal, the Acting 350 teacher, emphasized their achievement. Everything from the lighting to the costumes was the students’ decision; the production was not even directed by a faculty member.
Lillenbaum, one of the maids in the play, said that the process was “definitely independent and difficult to tackle.” The technical aspect was a huge part of the process, but thankfully, the students had the stage-managing expertise of Ben Wendel ’17 as a primary help source.
It is especially impressive to note that these three girls were also a part of the spring musical, City of Angels, which, running simoultaneously with the production of “The Maids,” has been a huge time commitment throughout the course of the spring term. The last performance of the musical took place the night before “The Maids,” and the two weeks leading up to the show were filled with back-to-back performances and rehearsals. Before the Acting 350 show, Ms. Ginder-Delventhal explained that the three students finished preparing at 3:30 AM and woke up at 6 AM to eat breakfast. Choate students are used to running on little sleep, but that type of work ethic is especially impressive. The hard work and dedication that Lillenbaum, Schevchenko, and Moore proved to have is greatly impressive and commendable.
The time and effort that these students put into their acting class’s performance was evident throughout the show. Everything was executed wonderfully, and every audience member was attentive and engaged. As Klaudia Horvath-Diano ’17 stated, “I was moved by their performance and impressed by all three of the actresses.” Clearly, all of the hard work these three skilled actresses put into their three-women show paid off.
